France has taken the steps to enact the Egalim law in 2018 and the Egalim II law in 2021 to establish rules for price formation to ensure fair trading relations and protect farmers’ remuneration. For farmers, who have less bargaining power, the Egalim II law has made it mandatory to make a contract between farmers and first purchaser with written contract documents containing a formula or term for the automatic revision of pricing of agricultural products considering the cost of production; the agreed price of agricultural products is also mandated to be transmitted to transactions between food processors and their purchasers.
The objective of this study is as follows; 1） to examine the details of the legal provisions as well as the background for the enactment of both laws; 2） to clarify the meaning of concepts and provisions that are unclear from the legal text, the discussions in governmental agencies and interprofessional organisations, and the state of implementation and preparation, based on field interviews; 3） further more to clarify the factors that enabled France to enter into the regulation of market conduct and to identify the issues for entering this domain in Japan.

View full abstract

This article examines the principles, content and development of food policy in France. First, relevant literature published by the National Food Council, such as policy propositions, was analysed to identify its socio-political background. It was found that the National Food Programme was developed in 2010 as a new policy category to respond to increasing food anxiety and a nutrition-centred tendency in dietary lives, namely, the radicalization of ‘food modernity’. Second, food policy development since 2010 has as its official objective a philosophy combining ‘eating well’ (bien manger) and ‘food security’. To achieve the goal of eating well, French food policy has promoted a wide range of measures – including food poverty, food education, food environment, food cultures and sustainability – in addition to the traditional objective of ensuring food availability and safety. Third, further analysis of food poverty prevention measures proved that their scope has moved beyond typical food aids for the vulnerable to achieve the target of eating well. More than 10 years of experience in France informs us that food policy, through its implementation and social debate, challenges the traditional private–public boundary in dietary lives and encourages the reinvention of the ‘food political’.

View full abstract

In FY2022, it was necessary to determine the impact of the tight global grain supply and demand situation on the Japanese wheat and soybean food system, as well as to consider the possibility of expanding domestically produced wheat and soybeans. Therefore, through discussions in this study group, we clarified, first, the impact of the tight global grain supply and demand situation on the food system for wheat and soybeans;, second, the expectations of actual consumers for domestically produced wheat and soybeans;, and third, the measures needed to expand the production of domestically produced wheat and soybeans, each from a food systems approach. As a result, it was clarified that there is potential to increase the production of both wheat and soybeans through variety development and that the development of corresponding distribution systems and applications is also necessary to increase production.

View full abstract

Wheat yield growth in Japan is limited compared to that in Germany, one of the European countries that produces wheat. Improving wheat productivity requires the diffusion of new varieties, because new varieties usually have higher yields than old ones. This study focuses on the differences in the diffusion of wheat varieties between Japan and Germany and comparatively analyzes the seed supply system and wheat handling unit in the two countries that affect the diffusion of varieties.
In Japan, farmers mainly grow varieties recommended by the local government. They often do not change varieties to prevent one variety from mixing with another. If varieties are mixed, the subsidy for wheat production decreases. In contrast, individual farmers in Germany choose their own varieties. Wheat is grouped by quality and then traded. They do not care about varietal mixtures because they do not affect farmers’ incomes. Farmers’ frequency changes vary; therefore, old varieties quickly change to new ones.

View full abstract

This study aimed to examine the factors that have increased domestic soybean use. First, I summarize the domestic production and demand trends for soybeans. Second, I describe the status of the renewal of domestic soybean varieties. Third, I examine cases regarding two fermented soybean-producing businesses that positively utilize domestic soybeans. This case study describes the transaction content and information exchange between fermented soybean-producing businesses and soybean producers.

View full abstract

Domestic wheat production and consumption has stagnated since 1963. However, during the Heisei period, superior wheat varieties appeared one after another across Japan and are now booming. This is due to the change in texture preferences of the Japanese people that emerged in the 1990s, which coincided with the direction of development of new wheat varieties and focuses on the unique texture “synergy between glutinous and elastic” of domestic wheat varieties. This unique texture may lead to the acquisition of noodles and other products in overseas markets. The significance of domestic wheat for the flour milling industry lies in its potential as a seed for “expansion of taste and health functions” and “challenge to new fields of food ”.

View full abstract

Given the instability in global grain supply and demand, the domestic production and demand of barley must also expand. First, a stable supply in terms of quantity and quality is a prerequisite for domestic barley to replace imported barley. Furthermore, it is necessary to develop new products that are commonly consumed as ingredients in foods (barley flour, barley jellies, etc.). To make this possible, it is important to build a new food system that transcends the boundaries between production, processing, and sales and has a sense of unity. Under these circumstances, the issue of quickly resolving the excess inventory of naked barley (a variety of barley) in the Setouchi area due to a large harvest has emerged. Therefore, the Setouchi Barley Promotion Council was established to conduct activities and discussions aimed at building a new food system to solve this problem and raise awareness among the stakeholders.

View full abstract